Ikea pulls frozen elk lasagne after traces of pork found

People walk alongside an Ikea outlet in Prague on Feb 25, 2013. Swedish furniture giant Ikea said on Saturday, April 6, 2013, that it had stopped selling its frozen elk lasagne after a batch was found to contain traces of pork. -- FILE PHOTO: REUTERS

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Swedish furniture giant Ikea said on Saturday that it had stopped selling its frozen elk lasagne after a batch was found to contain traces of pork.

The company withdrew 17,600 lasagnes from sale and began performing its own tests after a Belgian laboratory said the minced elk meat contained just over one percent pork.

"We were contacted by Belgian authorities on March 22 and we acted immediately," company spokesman Josefin Thorell said.

The contamination had taken place at Dafgaard, the same company that produces the Ikea meatballs that were pulled after tests showed they contained horsemeat.